Piece of Cake

I was craving chocolate cake.  I do not know why but I was.  It could be because I spotted this recipe in a magazine while I was waiting for a slow leaking tire to be repaired.  I was hungry, the worst time to grocery shop or peruse recipes.  Everything looks good when you’re hungry. All the recipes were tempting but I focused on chocolate cake.  Did you ever find yourself in that situation?  Slowly, deliberately, walking the aisles of your local grocery store tossing Cheez-It’s, Fig Newtons, Hostess Twinkies, bags full of fruit and veggies, grapefruit & cranberry juice, cheese, crackers, nuts and assorted other items that you may or may not normally consume, into your basket because at that time, it all looks good?  At the very moment you pass the cookie and cracker isle your stomach gives a little growl and your mouth waters just a little at the site of all those cookies and crackers, so you toss in a few.  Arriving home you wonder how you ended up with so many bags full of “stuff” and as you unpack you open a box here, a package there, and snack as you go. Finding yourself finally full, for the time being, you realize you really didn’t want all that junk anyway – you really wanted lunch!  Lucky for me I was at the tire place.

This cake did not turn out to be a pretty cake but oh is it tasty!  Moist and dense chocolate cake, that I’ll tell you would be fine without icing.  I iced it, but the cake is the winner here.  It turned out a little lopsided, and the icing was thick and runny at the same time.  None the less it tastes swell. It is the easiest cake I’ve ever made; 2 bowls and a whisk.  Minimal mess!  Next time I’ll try a different icing as I’m not as happy with my icing as I’d hoped.  I made basic confectioners sugar icing.  Try  your favorite icing recipe when you make it or try it with no icing and a cup of hot coffee.  It’s a winner.

This weekend I’ll be preparing chili for the Central Market chili cook-off.  The competition is on Sunday.  Wish me luck!

All is well in the bee yard at this time.  Busy bees carrying pollen and nectar back to the hive.  Queen Heidi busy laying eggs and being fed and groomed by her ladies in waiting. They are ramping up for the honey bounty.  I am too!

Enjoy!

Deep Dark Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
2/3 cup sifted unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups brewed coffee, at room temperature
2/3 cup canola oil
2 large egg whites
2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350*.  Coat 2 9′ round cake pans with cooking spray.  Cover the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper and coat with cooking spray.

Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl, whisking well. In a separate bowl combine coffee, oil, egg whites, vinegar, and vanilla, whisking well. Combine coffee mixture with flour mixture, whisking until smooth.  Divide batter evenly between the two prepared pans; tap pans on work surface to break air pockets.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes come out clean.  30-35 minutes. Cool in pans on wire racks for 20 minutes.  Run a knife around the edges of cakes; invert cakes onto cooling racks.  Remove parchment if necessary and cool completely before icing.

Bees Are Not Boring

Queen Heidi

For an update on my bees check out the “Bees & Honey” page – All Hail The Queen – The Heidi Hive.  All week-long I’ve repeated the phrase, “welcome to bee keeping”.  I’m astonished at how much I’ve learned and the many different experiences I’ve had in such a short time.  Bees are not boring – nor is the keeper bored.  Everyday brings a new adventure or a fresh look at the many aspects of bees.  It is quite thrilling, stressful, thought-provoking, engaging, and enjoyable all at once.

I hope you are enjoying the ride along with me.  Thanks so much for reading along.  This Sunday I will be participating in a chili cook-off at Central Market.  Don’t fret, food is still the basis of The Orange Bee blog and there will be new recipes up soon, as well as a story about the chili cook-off.

Enjoy!

Kiss The Moon

Did you see the moon on Saturday night?  It was a “Super Moon”.  I’m not calling it a super moon because I thought it looked super.  It was a “Super Moon” because scientists and astronomers refer to it as “Super” due to its being closer to earth and thus appearing brighter and bigger.  It was reasonably bright and a great view with binoculars or a telescope.  I always get a kick out of looking at the moon from down here, it’s pretty cool how you can see the craters and stuff.  Saturday night the moon did seem a little bigger and a little brighter – I hope you were able to catch sight of it.  It reminded me of these Meringue Kisses I made earlier in the day.

After I made the Brown Sugar – Lemon Tarts I had egg whites left over.  Thinking of those chickens working so hard to lay some nice eggs I just couldn’t pour them down the drain. So I made Meringue Kisses.  

Don’t you just love the way they sit there all puffy and curly q, each with its own personality, begging to be popped into a mouth and thoroughly savored?   They are a quick taste of gooey sweetness.  They have that meringue crunch when bitten into but melt into a marshmallow-like gooey chewiness.  I could eat a dozen or two easily.  They are going fast around The Orange Bee.

I cannot leave without filling you in on my bee keeping escapades.  It appears that my queen has been lost or killed.  Possibly,  murderous little creatures.  If this happened, it likely happened when the box of bees from the hospital was brought and integrated with the original  hive.  It isn’t definitive yet, but Mr. F and I will look one more time to be sure we don’t find any signs of her.  Signs would be either seeing her or finding newly laid eggs and larva, which upon inspection today, I did not see either of the two.  Meantime I am mail-ordering two queens.  They will be delivered by the U.S. Postal service or Fed-Ex. Isn’t that wild?  Stay tuned……

Enjoy!

Meringue Kisses

Ingredients:
3 large egg whites
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
1/8 tsp. salt
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 2258.  Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or leave ungreased.  Beat egg whites, cream of tartar and salt in a medium bowl on low-speed until foamy.  Increase the speed to high and beat until the egg whites just begin to form soft peaks. Gradually add sugar beating until well combined.  Reduce the speed to low and beat in vanilla.

Beat until the meringue is glossy and  stands in very stiff peaks.  (This is the fun part) Drop heaping teaspoonfuls of meringue onto cookie sheets in peaked mounds.  Bake for 45 minutes rotating the sheets and switching positions half way through baking.  Turn the heat off and let the cookies stand in the oven for 30 minutes, or until cool.

Sweet Spring

Brown Sugar - Lemon Tart

Spring is near and it feels like it today.  Warm, sunny, clear, slight breeze and nearing the end of spring break.  It has been an interesting week at The Orange Bee between bee adventures, the college search, March madness taking over every television we own and seeking to enjoy spring and the absence of our ordinary schedule.  I think we found an agreeable balance among all mentioned.  At one time or another we were all indulged our choice of “what to do” over the break.

To hear about my story of bee adventures gone awry go to the “Bees & Honey” page – Bee Thinking – Bee-wildered.  I’ve been told that bees are not easy to understand nor are they totally predictable.  I’m beginning to understand this phenomenon that surrounds the life of a bee.  I love my bees no matter my bewilderment.

We’ve been eating fairly heathy this week, at least on the days we were at home.  On the days we traveled we didn’t succumb to fast food too much, but we did eat out and I never feel as though our meals are as healthy as when we eat from my kitchen.  I’ve wanted a sweet little something all week so today I made Brown Sugar-Lemon Tarts.  I’ve had this recipe on my desktop for months and today I finally tried it.  I had more than one reason to try this tart recipe.  One reason is, I love lemon anything.  Lemon tarts, lemon cream, lemonade, lemon in tea, lemon meringue pie (that recipe will surface one day), lemon bars, lemon yogurt, lemon sorbet, lemon lip gloss, I like lemon.  Another reason I wanted to make tarts is I wanted to use my cute little wooden dough press.  You’ll see a photo of it later, it’s a handy little gadget that I need to use more often.  Also, this recipe states that it is an old Pennsylvania Dutch recipe and I enjoy most of their foods.  The last reason is, I am ready to move it off of my cluttered desktop and file it in The Orange Bee files.

The actual recipe refers to this little sweet as Lemon Tarts.  I am re-naming it Brown Sugar-Lemon Tarts, as I taste brown sugar before I taste lemon.  The tart, sweet lemon flavor comes later, after a bite or two.  I made them in mini muffin tins.  You can make them in regular muffin tins if you prefer.  I did make a few in regulation size muffin tins and I notice adoring hubby keeps going for those.  However you might choose to make them I will say they are perfect morsels of sweetness.  They have a homey flavor, reminiscent of Pennsylvania Dutch cooking, pure, simple and delicious.

Enjoy!

Brown Sugar – Lemon Tarts

2 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar ( I used a mix of light and dark)
6 egg yolks
1 lemon, juice and rind
pinch salt
1 Pillsbury pie crust

Bring pie crust to a workable temperature.  Roll out and cut with a biscuit cutter into rounds.  1 1/2″ for mini tin, 4″ for regular tin.  Line tin with dough and press into cups using dough press.

Mix filling by creaming together sugar and butter, blend with beaten egg yolks, adding lemon juice and rind and salt.  Fill dough using a spoon or scoop.  Bake in a preheated 350* oven for about 15 minutes for mini tins and about 30 minutes for regular tins, or until filling is set and crust is golden brown.

Tarts to share

Recipe submitted by CM @ Cooks.com   Leave a little love and post a comment or cast a vote before you go.

St. Paddy’s Day Havoc

UGH!  The March winds are rearing their ugly heads today.  The roaring sound is relentless, the phrase wind-blown is in effect, and my hair is tousled, to say the least.   The twenty-seven mile per hour winds are wrecking havoc on my bee adventures and I am not happy about it.  There are bee affairs that need tending to and time is of the essence.  Yesterday I discovered queen cells being built by the girls and Mr. Floyd decided I would start another colony with them.  If you are not into bees this may not mean a thing to you but to a bee keeper this is big stuff!  It means I will instantly acquire a new hive, more bees, and thus the possibility of more honey later this summer. I know some of  you are looking forward to tasting my delicious, sweet, sticky honey and having more bees and hives will hopefully produce more of that glorious nectar.  To accomplish this I will need to open my hive and remove the queen cell frame, placing it in another hive and add a few thousand bees.  If I were to try to pour bees from one box into another on a day like today I’m bettin’ I’d lose a few thousand bees.  This endeavor will require much less wind and will be postponed until a calmer day.  Patience, patience, patience… my mantra for this day.

So what do I do on a day when I can’t do what I want to do?  Cook!  With spring break winding down I wanted minimal time in the kitchen.  Despite the ridiculous wind speed it is warm and beautiful outdoors.  I relish spending time with a glass of vino and adoring hubby soaking up the warmth provided by the sun and possibly watching a golden sunset. I’m finding myself in the mood for Mexican food, simple, easy, tasty Mexican fare.  My apologies St. Patrick – no Irish fare this year for the Orange Bee!

Having roasted a whole chicken recently, and finding myself with left-overs, I decided to make chicken quesadillas.  Now, with the warm temps and bright sun shining through my kitchen windows I needed fresh and light fillings to go with the appetizing chicken.  Below is my recipe for Chicken-Papaya Quesadillas.  Quesadillas are what I call a perfect food. Easy to prepare with whatever ingredients you may have on hand, satisfying and liked by most everyone. These quesadillas are so tasty with sweet, juicy bites of papaya, piquant peppers, gooey cheese, tender chicken, fresh cilantro and the wholesomeness of whole wheat tortillas.  Deciding to prepare this “perfect” distraction is making me feel less anxious to play with bees.  Ahhhhh….but maybe I need wine to extend this feeling of calm. Surely a glass of wine and reciting my mantra of the day will keep my feathers unruffled.

Enjoy!

Chicken-Papaya Quesadillas

Chicken – Papaya Quesadillas

Ingredients:
2 Whole wheat tortillas
1/2 cup Papaya, peeled, seeded and diced
1/2 Red Bell Pepper, peeled, seeded and diced
1 Anaheim chile, roasted, peeled, seeded and diced
1 Chicken breast, cooked and diced ( I used roasted chicken but you can use grilled, broiled, boiled, or baked)
1/3 cup grated Monterrey Jack cheese
1/3 cup grated Pepper Jack ( if you do not like pepper cheese just increase the plain cheese)
1/2 cup Cilantro chopped
Avocado Slices

Place each tortilla on a medium hot grill or into a skillet over medium heat.  Divide the cheese, papaya, chili, red pepper, chicken and cilantro and sprinkle over each tortilla. When cheese begins to melt and tortilla starts to brown, gently fold tortilla in half. Transfer to a cutting board and cut into 4 slices.  Garnish with sliced avocado and papaya slices.

 

Dreamy Days

Orange Dreamsicle

With our warmer weather, windy March days, blossoms bursting out all over the place, birds nesting, and bees buzzing I’ve been dreamin’ of lazy summer days. Not that I wish to pass over spring – I do not!

Right now Miss T and I are on spring break from school.  It’s just the precursor to summer.  Spring break causes me to commence pondering those lazy summer days, when we stay outdoors until 10, taking delight in watching lightening bugs and being thankful for the coolness nighttime brings.  I reminiscence about days gone by with icy cold watermelon dripping down chins,  glasses of frozen margaritas sipped slowly while rocking in big chairs on the back porch, cool linen tops floating in the air, colorful flip flops showing off brightly painted toes.  The best part is the lazy days part, no alarm clocks jolting me out of bed, no rushing around to fill lunch boxes, no sitting through traffic, and staying up late watching all the movies we never managed to see with an early morning looming.

In the summer we often pull out the ole’ ice cream freezer and make a batch of homemade ice cream.  Banana nut, peach, plain vanilla, or strawberry.  I’m not quite ready for that just yet but I was in the mood for a frozen concoction.  I decided a smoothie would be a great way to enjoy spring.  Guess what?  Not only does it have honey as an ingredient but it is also an inviting orange color.  To me this sounded right up my alley.

Smoothies are so simple to throw together.  You can put just about anything in the blender jar with some ice and a little liquid, whir it around and voila a delicious, refreshing smoothie.  The thing I like about this smoothie is that the fruit is frozen therefore sidestepping the addition of ice, yielding plenty of fresh fruity flavors.

Enjoy!

Orange Dreamsicle

Ingredients:
1/2 cup low fat milk or soy milk
1 6 oz. carton low fat vanilla yogurt
1 11 oz. can mandarin oranges with juice
1/2 cup pineapple chunks
1-2 tbsp. honey

Lay oranges and pineapple chunks on baking sheet and freeze for about one hour. Place all ingredients in blender and process until smooth.
Makes 2 smoothies.

Crafty Little Creatures

If you are interested in my bee adventures check out the “Bees & Honey” page, Bee School 101, Crafty Little Creatures, for a short story of yesterday’s adventure in the bee yard.

Enjoy!

What’s Up Doc?

Orange Carrots

Carrots?  The favorite food of cartoon character Bugs Bunny hardly needs an explanation.  I bet your mother told you that eating carrots would keep your eyesight bright.  She was correct, the beta-carotene in carrots helps protect our vision and antioxidants found in carrots provide protection against macular degeneration.

Did you know that besides my favorite color; which if you’ve been following my blog you have learned is orange, carrots come in white, yellow, red and purple.  I buy orange carrots as they are the easiest to find locally.  Miss T is too picky to eat carrots but I decided to make some roasted carrots using honey for adoring hubby and myself.  Now that my bees are here I’m looking for ways to use the honey I am anticipating harvesting later this summer.  Meantime Mr. Floyd is doing a quite nice job of keeping me supplied with some wildflower honey from his many hives.

This is a decidedly simple recipe to follow.  The carrots come out of the oven glazed, caramelized, tender and delicious. I even let a few get a little blackened as adoring hubby likes that part the best.  The orange zest added at the end melds well with the honey and orange flavors already present.

I can’t leave you without saying that this afternoon I will be opening my bee hive for the first time to investigate and see what has resulted from the newest bees arrival.  I am eager to check it out and am hopeful that all is well in bee land. Adoring hubby will be photographing the process from a distance and I plan to post photos of my experience.

I’ve also been wanting to say that if you are new to my blog, or have discovered my blog through searches on the internet don’t stop by without leaving a little bit of love by posting a comment.  I welcome comments from friends as well as followers I do not know.

Enjoy!

Orange Roasted Carrots

Ingredients:
2 1/2 tbsp. best quality olive oil
12-14 medium size carrots, peeled and cut into 2″ lengths
2 tbsp. honey
1/2 tsp. salt
Freshly grated pepper to taste
Finely grated zest of one orange

Preheat oven to 400*.  Oil a baking sheet or jelly roll pan.  Bring a large pot of salted water to boil; add the carrots and cook for 5 minutes. Drain well, and pat dry.  Place carrots in a large bowl and toss with honey, oil, salt and pepper.  Place carrots in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.  Bake until caramelized, shaking the pan and turning two or three times to prevent sticking.  About 20-30 minutes.  Remove carrots to a bowl and gently stir in orange zest.  Serve immediately.

Recipe taken from The Silver Palate Cookbook

Going Hog Wild

Braised Pork Chops-Mojo de Ajo

If you have been following my blog you may recall reading the post about grilled salmon mojo de ajo.  It was titled “Garlic Is Good For You”.   Did you know that garlic contains manganese, Vitamin B1, B6 and Vitamin C ?  These are just a few of garlic’s healthy benefits.  Garlic is wonderful used as seasoning for its taste, aroma and added nutrition.

I add garlic to many recipes and meals at the Orange Bee.  After having the mojo sauce with the salmon I wanted to use it with another meal as well since mojo de ajo is one of my favorites.  I figure if it was good with the salmon it would be good with other meats or seafood as well.  As usual, I looked in the freezer to see what I could prepare that might go well with all that garlic.  Bingo!  Wild hog pork chops.  Yes, I said, “wild hog”.  The chops were given to me by my bee mentor, Mr. Floyd.  I was not completely sure how it would work since I’d never prepared wild hog chops before.  I was sure willing to give it a try.  One of my main concerns was if the meat would be tender or tough, so I chose to braise the meat, hoping to ensure its tenderness.  The pork chops were falling off the bone and had no wild taste whatsoever.

The mojo de ajo can be made ahead and refrigerated until you are ready to use it. Another favorite flavor of mine is that which comes from poblano chiles.  They are always easy to find and add a fresh, flavorful taste to foods.  Since the mojo is spanish or mexican in flavor I made chile rellenos on the side.  There is not a recipe for how I make them but I will give instructions below the pork recipe for you to follow if you’d like to try them.

Before I go, I’ll give you an update about my bees.  Yesterday my hive grew by leaps and bounds.  An entire box of bees moved in.  To hear the rest of the story go to the “Bees & Honey” page at the top of the blog.  Click on “All Hail The Queen”/Movin’ On Up.

Enjoy!

Braised Pork with Mojo de Ajo

Ingredients:
5 lbs Pork Chops on the bone
2 14 oz. cans chicken broth (low sodium)
1 large head of garlic, peeled and chopped
2 bay leaves
1 tsp. salt & pepper or to taste
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 large onion, sliced

Preparation:
Heat oven to  400*.  Combine pork, broth, 1/2 of the chopped garlic, bay leaves, salt and pepper in a large oven proof pot.  Cover and cook for 1 1/2 hours.  Remove from oven, using a mitt!  Transfer pork to a platter and keep warm.

Place pot on stove top and boil liquid in the pot until reduced to about 1 1/2 cups.  About 30 minutes.  Return pork to pot.

Heat 2 tbsp. olive oil in a heavy skillet on medium high and add onion and remaining garlic.  Saute until soft and golden. This mixture will be placed on top of the pork chops with the mojo being spooned on top of that.

Mojo de Ajo Sauce

Ingredients:
1 cup olive oil
3/4 cup lime juice
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
8 cloves minced garlic
1 tbsp. grated orange peel
1 tbsp. dried oregano
2 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp. salt & pepper

Whisk all ingredients together.

When ready to serve the pork, place the pork on the plate, place the onion and garlic mixture on top of chops and spoon the mojo on top of all.  This is making my mouth water as I write about it as it is delicious.  Below is a brief explanation of how I made the chile rellenos to accompany the pork.

Wash poblano chiles and roast over a hot grill.  To do this just get your grill fired up and lay the chiles on the grates turning to burn the skins on all sides.  When peppers are roasted and beginning to blacken place them in a brown paper bag to steam for a few minutes. Remove skin, stem and seeds, being careful not to cut but a slit in the pepper.  I stuffed them with sharp cheddar cheese this time and sprinkled a few chopped green onions on top.  They can be placed  back on the grill to melt the cheese or put them in the oven to melt the cheese.

Serve with fresh fruit and you’ll have a tasty, flavorful, healthy dinner.

I Say Tomato You Say Tomato

Tomato Basil Soup

Do you say tomato or toe-mah-toe?  I say tomato and with that said,  I’ve been pondering the change of seasons.  It is upon us, spring that is.  I’m feeling the need to move forward as the clocks will be moving forward this weekend, a true sign of the season change.  Not to mention dandelions, peach blossoms, redbud trees popping out all over, Bradford pear trees posing as if in the snow, March winds howling through my yard and the migration of many beautiful birds.

Adoring hubby mentioned the other day that he didn’t feel that we had eaten enough soups and winter’s hearty bowls of steaming soup would soon be a thing of the past.  Yep, he was correct in that assumption, hearty, heavy stews and soups will soon take a back seat to lighter fare and fewer bowls of soup on the dinner table.

To satisfy his desire for one more bowl of soup I made a pot of tomato-basil soup. Everyone here at the Orange Bee loves tomato soup.  We especially love it with a grilled cheese sandwich or after a bout of the crud.  It’s the next best thing to chicken soup to cure what ever ails ya’.

This version tastes fresh, healthy and satisfying.  The topping of fried okra sets it off just perfectly.  I am not too keen on frying foods or eating fried foods.  For one thing I detest the mess it creates on my stove top.  The other reason I try to stay away from fried food is that greasy, knot in your stomach feeling you get when you eat fried food.  I make a few exceptions to this rule, like if I’m having a weak moment, or while traveling, or in the case of okra.  I like okra prepared various ways but fried is the best.  So I fried up just enough to top the soup and it was the perfect accompaniment.

Before you stow away the soup pot make a batch of this delightful, change of seasons soup.  You won’t be sorry.

Enjoy!

Tomato Basil Soup

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 large cans of whole tomatoes
3 cups chicken broth (reduced sodium is my choice)
6 sprigs of basil, chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
salt & pepper to taste
Frozen fried okra

Heat the olive oil in your soup pot and add the onion, sauté until soft and golden; add garlic and continue sautéing until garlic is soft.  Add tomatoes, basil, broth salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until tomatoes are soft.  Stir in balsamic vinegar and continue to simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes.

Remove pot from heat source and with a hand-held blender purée the soup leaving a few solid pieces of tomato.  If you don’t own an immersion blender; cool the soup and purée in batches in a blender, returning the soup to the pot and keep warm.

Before serving the soup follow directions on the package of frozen okra and fry enough to top all servings.  Be sure to drain the okra on paper towels and blot to remove excess grease.

All in all this soup is tastes fresh and healthy even with the addition of “fried” okra.